St. Louis City Revised Code (annotated) has been converted to electronic format by the
staff of the St. Louis Public Library. This electronic version has been done for the
interest and convenience of the user. These are unofficial versions and should be used as
unofficial copies.

Official printed copies of St. Louis City Revised Code may be obtained from the
Register's Office at the St. Louis City Hall.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, and words shall have the meaning given herein, unless the context
clearly indicates that another meaning is intended. When not inconsistent with
the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the
plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number
include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and
not merely directory.

A. "Broadband" means having the capability of
supporting, in both directions, a speed in excess of 200 kilobits per second
in the last mile.

B. "Broadband internet user" means any
residential customer who lawfully obtains broadband internet access through
facilities in the City's public rights-of-way, or any non-residential
customer who lawfully obtains a type of broadband internet access that is
generally offered by the internet access operator to residential customers.

C. "Content" means any information, including
without limitation HTML information, audio, video, and other data.

D. "Internet access operator" means any entity
owning facilities in the City's public rights-of-way whose facilities are
used by any person to provide broadband internet access to persons in the
City.

No internet access operator shall impair, limit, or
condition any broadband internet user's ability to lawfully access any and all
lawful content generally available to the public on the internet.
(Ord. 65434 § 2, 2001.)

B. Internet access operators shall permit broadband internet
users to access the public internet without being required to view proprietary
content provided by the internet access operator, or any affiliate.

C. No internet access operator shall require a broadband
internet user to use any particular first screen or category of first screen
upon accessing the internet. Rather, an internet access operator shall allow a
broadband internet user to select any first screen of the user's choice,
including a first screen of any internet service provider.

D. Internet access operators shall comply with all
applicable law and regulation regarding accessibility to users with
disabilities. Except as otherwise provided under applicable law or regulation,
internet access operators shall not adopt a policy of prohibiting the use of
specialized end-user interfaces (such as interfaces designed for use by the
disabled) by broadband internet users, and shall take reasonable steps to
ensure that their systems as designed and installed do not impede any use of
such interfaces that are readily available as of the time of such design and
installation.

E. Notwithstanding the foregoing subsections of this
section, the following shall not constitute violations of this section:

1. Reasonable technical restrictions on the bandwidth or
data transmission rate available to any broadband internet user needed to
preserve service quality and speed of broadband internet access.

2. Offering of different internet access products to any
and all broadband internet users at different prices in different packages
or with different capabilities.

3. Requirement that broadband internet users pay their
bills to the internet access operator as a condition of continued service.

Once residential broadband internet services are offered by
an internet access operator in the City, such services shall be made available
to residences generally on a nondiscriminatory basis throughout the City,
without regard to race, gender, religion or economic status; provided,
however, that an internet access operator may initially offer such service
over a limited area as part of a gradual or phased construction or upgrade, so
long as such initial offering is implemented on a non-discriminatory basis
without regard to race, gender, religion or economic status.
(Ord. 65434 § 5, 2001.)

8.29C.060 Compliance with applicable law.

In addition to the obligations otherwise set forth in this
chapter, an internet access operator shall comply with all lawful federal and
state requirements with respect to access to the internet access operator's
facilities for internet service providers.
(Ord. 65434 § 6, 2001.)

8.29C.070 Rules of construction.

A. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to prohibit, condition or restrict the use by any cable operator
of any type of subscriber equipment or any transmission technology as those
terms are used in 47 U.S.C. § 544(e).

B. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to regulate the content provided to any broadband internet user.

C. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to require any internet access operator to dedicate any specific
bandwidth to internet access for the purpose of complying with this chapter.

D. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to authorize rate-of-return regulation or the regulation of an
internet access operator as a utility or common carrier to the extent such
regulation would otherwise be prohibited by applicable law.

E. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to regulate the rates an internet access operator may charge its
broadband internet users for any service.

F. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied so as to prohibit otherwise lawful arrangements between the internet
access operator and internet service providers.

G. No provision of this chapter shall be construed or
applied to prevent an internet access operator from requiring a broadband
internet user to use a particular screen or specific software or software
tools, which may incorporate proprietary names or logos, in order to
facilitate selection among multiple internet service providers.
(Ord. 65434 § 7, 2001.)

8.29C.080 Modification by state or federal law.

A. If any provision of this chapter is held by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid or in conflict with any applicable City,
state, or federal law, then this chapter shall be modified or suspended in
such a manner as to implement the intent of this chapter to the fullest extent
possible consistent with the requirements of any such law, rule or regulation.
If this chapter cannot be modified or suspended in such a manner as to
implement such intent, then this chapter shall be deemed null and void.

B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City recognizes that
the subject matter of this chapter is currently the subject of proceedings
before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and also recognizes that
any lawful determinations by the FCC regarding the subject matter of this
chapter that have preemptive effect pursuant to applicable law shall control.
(Ord. 65434 § 8, 2001.)